 NWA October 2020 Newsletter
Issue 20 - 10
 Well, here we are two weeks beyond our 2020 Annual Meeting and our first ever fully virtual meeting. When I take the time to reflect on the meeting, it is hard to believe that it has already come and gone. Initial reactions from those that attended have been very positive. I sincerely hope that the Annual Meeting met your expectations. I know that it met mine, and then some.The NWA wants to hear your feedback. If you have not taken the time to fill out the Annual Meeting Survey, please do so. We take in all feedback in order to improve your experience year after year. We are especially curious this year given the virtual nature of the meeting. What did you like about it? What can be improved? What are your ideas for future meetings? Feel free to be open with us. We read it all. Those of you that did not attend the meeting, fear not. This year everything was recorded! You can go and watch all the presentations, talks and activities at your leisure. Currently all this material is still on the Whova app and accessible to registrants. All material will be transferred over to the Member Connect system at a later date. This means you have plenty of time to watch all the material if you desire. This is a nice benefit of this year’s virtual setting. What is very clear after this year’s Annual Meeting is that we are likely to have some sort of virtual component to our Annual Meetings in the future. We have proven that this format can be useful and informative for our members. Best of all, it allows more of you to attend and take advantage of the value that the NWA provides to your professional development. We are excited to exploit this new opportunity. The theme of this year's meeting was clearly oriented on the future of our organization and career fields in general. There were some controversial and very forward-thinking ideas about what operational meteorology will look like in the future. Based on some of the chat discussions and my own personal communications, the theme had the desired result: to get people talking about the future. Naturally, we must now look forward and beyond the Annual Meeting. It should comfort you to know that your NWA Board has not been idle in 2020. We have been working on orienting this Association through longer term strategic objectives. Those objectives will be focused on how this Association plans to provide you (its members) value in your professional careers. This no easy feat as the future is moving at us quickly and much of it is uncertain—similar to the weather we forecast. I can tell you in no uncertain terms that the group of highly intelligent and professional folks that sit on the NWA Board are up to the challenge! You will hear more from me in the coming months about how these future activities will shape up. I have some work to do before handing over the reins to Nate Johnson in 2020. I plan on crossing the finish line in a sprint. I hope everyone has a safe and happy October. Annual Meeting Registration Still Open for Members Registration is still open! This year's virtual meeting was recorded and can still be viewed in the Whova meeting app. Annual Meeting rates still apply and vary in price according to member type. Seal Holders can also receive CEUs by attending and viewing sessions.
Have questions? Email us at [email protected]. Congratulations to this year's Annual Award Winners!
Watch the full Awards Ceremony here. Operational Achievement Individual AwardThis award is presented to a person who has made a significant contribution to operational meteorology (e.g., an accurate and timely forecast for one or more significant weather events or for long-period achievement). Award Winner: Samuel H. Coleman (NWS CAE) For heroic achievement through issuing nine Tornado Warnings in three hours during the April 13, 2020 Tornado Outbreak which directly saved at least 25 lives.
Operational Achievement Group AwardThis award is presented to a group of two or more individuals for a significant contribution to operational meteorology. Award Winner: David Rudack (NWS/MDL/Statistical Modeling Branch) For improving the accuracy and consistency of forecasts across the weather enterprise via free access to the groundbreaking National Blend of Models.
The Larry R. Johnson Special AwardThis award is presented to an individual or a group to recognize unique events or extraordinary accomplishments, which significantly contributed to operational meteorology. Award Winner: Alex DeSmet and the Idaho Pathfinder Group For working strategically to improve collaboration between partners, seeking to reduce weather's impact on surface transportation for public safety.
Walter J. Bennett Public Service AwardThis award is presented to an individual or organization directly assisting the meteorological community in providing weather-related information to the public. Individuals and organizations in the meteorological profession are ineligible for this award. Award Winner: Michael Wilhelm (Posthumous) For his decades of dedicated service as a storm spotter, his determination to improve the warning process by providing critical weather information to the meteorological community, and his genuine love of weather and sense of caring for people that saved lives in his home state of Alabama.
Public Education AwardThis award is presented to an individual or organization providing significant contributions to increase the public's weather awareness. Award Winner: NWS Weather Forecast Office (WFO) Riverton, Wyoming, Outreach Team For Outstanding Severe Weather Safety and Public Education Efforts involving the Wyoming Weather Ready Nation Weather School Project in Central and Western Wyoming
Local Chapter AwardThis award is presented to a Local Chapter of the NWA whose activities have significantly increased awareness of the weather and of the NWA in their local area. Award Winner: University of Oklahoma Student Chapter of the American Meteorological Society and National Weather Association (OU SCAN) For their devotion to increasing weather awareness in the local community and beyond with an emphasis on inclusivity and diversity
The Special Lifetime Achievement AwardAward Winner: Elliot Abrams For his pioneering weather radio broadcasts and his significant and truly outstanding contributions to operational meteorology sciences for more than 50 years.
Special Achievement AwardAward Winner: Weather Forecast Office - Shreveport, LA Outstanding Warning and Decision Support During COVID-19
Special Achievement AwardAward Winner: Dr. Kandis Y. Boyd, PMP For a lifetime of extraordinary leadership and accomplishment in developing and implementing awareness campaigns and broadening participation of traditionally underrepresented individuals in Meteorology. Dr. Boyd has dedicated her 25-year career to mentoring, leading, and broadening participation of traditionally underrepresented individuals in Meteorology. She has developed awareness campaigns, such as Turn Around Don't Drown (TADD), which is currently used by both operational meteorologists and broadcast meteorologists to inform and educate about the dangers of driving into flooded roadways. Dr. Boyd speaks to college students regularly, and has presented at numerous STEM events and career fairs, to promote science, technology, diversity, and inclusion. To date, Dr. Boyd has mentored over 20 NOAA employees, 30 college students, and presented to over 2000 elementary and middle school students. It is without reservation that I recommend Dr. Kandis Boyd, PMP for this esteemed honor.
Special Appreciation AwardAward Winner: Joby Smith (Bay County, FL Emergency Management Division) For extraordinary efforts providing life-saving information and alerts to the residents of Bay County before, during and after the catastrophic Hurricane Michael.
Special Appreciation AwardAward Winner: Tim Brice (NWS El Paso) and the National School Outreach Team Tim Brice (NWS El Paso) and the National School Outreach Team have provided hundreds of presentations to countless thousands of school-aged K-12 students across the United States and also internationally (United Kingdom, Mexico, Argentina, and Japan). |
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